Presented is a fabulous quality pair of antique Grand Tour carved statues of the Jennings Dog, a famous ancient Roman copy of a lost Greek bronze, sometimes called the Dog of Alcibiades or simply the Molossian hound. These particular statues are likely Italian, dating to the mid to late 1800s. These statues are quite faithfully detailed and well carved from rich dark green serpentine, with striking mottling and veining visible in the stone. The dogs are attached to rectangular naturalistic bases, all one piece, no bolts or mounts.
One of the pair is in excellent overall condition. It has a small chip to one ear, as pointed out in the tenth photograph. The other statue (the one with the notched front corner) has a professional restoration, which is hard to notice without very close careful inspection; the lines of the break and subsequent repair blend in with the natural veining of the stone, making it hard to see. It looks like the dog broke off from the legs, and like the tips of the ears have some restoration as well, but these restorations were done professionally to a high standard. The notched front corner seems to be original, not a break.
Each statue stands about 8 3/4 inches tall. The bases measure about 8 by 4 1/4 inches.
The combined weight of the pair of statues is about 12.3 pounds, or 5.6 kilograms. -jm
